


Take Him Back

by Artersf



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angels, Angelstuck, Demons, Demonstuck, Fallen Angels, Gen, Implied Relationship, M/M, Sadstuck, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 04:10:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8313508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artersf/pseuds/Artersf
Summary: The one he admired had small, rounded horns prominent only because their scarlet color stood out the same as his eyes.He was a demon.It was as if this boy’s skin shone whiter, hair glowed brighter, halo burning hotter.He was an angel.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This work is based off of Tumblr user the-space-case's individual Fallen Angel AU. Here's a link to their amazing blog. http://the-space-case.tumblr.com/

Dave peeked over the clouds every night. In Paradise, there was no need for sleep, but he knew it was different in the Abyss. They slept during the day, because light burned their skin. Some of them, however, had lighter shades of gray skin, and they seemed to last longer in the sunlight before burns started blistering. He figured those were the ones who were more redeemed than the rest; that maybe they had a chance of enlightenment. Maybe. He’d never known any in history to, but he could always hope. Especially the one he admired every night, after the sun set. The one he saw every night, coming out from the portal in the safely secluded spot in the forest. The one who seemed to look up at him, sitting on a solitary tree stump, as he looked down, perched upon the edge of a mist.

The one he admired - Karkat - had small, rounded horns prominent only because their scarlet color stood out the same as his eyes. Karkat’s skin was among the lighter grays of all of the creatures of the Abyss that he’d seen come and go. It wasn’t the lightest, but it wasn’t nearly as dark as the average shade. Yet, next to his own blindingly white skin, he knew it would appear significantly tainted. He wondered if he’d ever get the opportunity to compare, although he knew it was silly to even wish. He couldn’t leave Paradise, and part of him didn’t even want to.

Until the bigger part of him did. And the Elder found out. The Elder knew - He could see it in the way Dave gazed down to the secluded forest; He could see it in the way Dave grew more and more anxious as night drew near. He could see it when Dave abandoned his duties or became dazed with thought during conversation. The Elder knew. And when the Elder knew, consequences were dealt.

Karkat was there when the angel boy was cast down from Paradise into the Abyss.

For many long decades, he’d been playing something akin to peek-a-boo with the entity. At first, it started as a glance out of the Abyss, looking up into the clouds. His crimson eyes always caught on the same boy. It was as if this boy’s skin shone whiter, hair glowed brighter, halo burning hotter. Something about this boy drew Karkat to him, wishing he’d done better in physical life to earn the right into Paradise. But he knew there was hardly a chance to redeem himself now that his previous existence had long since passed. As the years went by, he became more courageous. Entities in Paradise, though they were allowed to, rarely left the gates. Creatures of the Abyss, however, would regularly hide away in their designated, secluded forests, although with an extreme price to pay when they returned. And return they had to, because after twenty-four hours in a forest, one was painfully forced back into the ground.

After a while, Karkat had taken to spending more time in his forest, gazing up at the mist the angel boy always seemed to be perched upon. He wished he had the omnipresent knowledge entities in Paradise possessed, if only so that he could know the boy’s name, and if he really was looking back down at him. He hoped. And the desire to be able to speak personally with the angel boy burned hotter than the punishment he received each day he returned to the Abyss.

It was the worst pain when the angel boy fell from Paradise. Either by chance or cruel intention, he was flung against the hard, hot pavement in front of Karkat. His wings had been clipped, leaving only bleeding stubs at the base. The Elder had left him in nothing but a cloth to keep his privates covered - the worst of humility. Almost immediately after the boy hit the ground, Karkat was on his knees beside him.

“No!” he cried skyward, lifting the boy from the cement that burned him. The angel was shaking, parts of his skin slowly, and no doubt painfully turning gray. His blindingly white hair was turning black, strand by strand. “Don’t do this!” Karkat shouted, looking up.

The angel let out a breathless cry of pain as pointed nubs of horns broke through his skull, leaving the remnants of white hair stained red from the ichor. Karkat looked back down at him in alarm, wondering what he could do to relieve the pain and knowing there was nothing. He stared helplessly for a moment before he screwed his face into pained anger, holding the boy against his chest. “Anyone but him!” he screamed. “Take him back! Take him _**back!**_ ”

His pleas were unheard or ignored. He sobbed as he held the fallen angel, knowing that it would only be more painful before it got better. Knowing that when the boy roused from his disorientation, he would only be confused and hurt. Knowing that it would take too long for him to get used to the daily punishments and sweltering, blistering heat. Knowing that he would miss being able to gaze down at the beauty of the earth as it raged and thrived on below him.

When finally the boy seemed to still his trembling, Karkat lay him gently on the floor again. The boy’s eyes opened, a brilliant red, though not as prominent as Karkat’s own. Without the boy speaking a word, Karkat heard a name. The first sign that his transformation was permanently in progress.

“Dave.”


End file.
